Presbyterians Celebrating Pride Month

How did your church celebrate Pride?

On Sunday, June 12, Ridgefield-Crystal Lake Presbyterian Church, Woodstock First Presbyterian and several other faith groups participated in PRIDE Fest on Woodstock’s histo

ric town square. An estimated crowd of 4,000 enjoyed a parade, food trucks, live music, and booths from a variety of churches, social-service agencies,

and vendors. Pictured above are Ridgefield-Crystal Lake volunteers with a bench that was temporarily relocated from the church to their Pride Fest booth. As one attendee said,

You could see and hear the love, but also you could feel it.

One of our longtime congregations, Fairmount Presbyterian Church, shared the love with its community in Cleveland, OH as youth, members and pastors shared marched in Pride. The church declares,

Founded in 1916, Fairmount Presbyterian Church exists to create a just and flourishing community where ALL people experience the love of God. We are a safe, welcoming, progressive, and LGBTQ+ affirming PC(USA) Church in Cle Heights!

Arlington Presbyterian Church, an "open congregation" in our network "committed to welcome, nurture, and serve all of God's children," recorded a video with the church's young people proclaiming God's inclusive love and wishing viewers a happy Pride month. Another Covenant Network congregation, Catonsville Presbyterian Church, shared uplifting messages on social media reminding LGBTQIA+ people that God loves them fully and completely.

In the final week of June, the Presbyterian Associations of Musicians held the second week of their annual Music and Worship Conference. The Rev. Lucy Strong, Co-Moderator and the Rev. Carol M. McDonald, Board member and Chair of Finance and Development represented leaders in worship and morning prayer, respectively. As the Digital Media Communications Specialist at the Covenant Network of Presbyterians, I wanted to wear my Pride at the conference, and rejoiced in the number of other participants wearing their own rainbow masks, pronoun pins, or other signs of Pride.

Kicking off Pride Month, the PC(USA) posted an excerpt from the 223rd General Assembly (2018) item 11-13, “On Celebrating the Gifts of People of Diverse Sexual Orientations and Gender Identities in the Life of the Church." Learn more about this item at https://bit.ly/3McHOhQ and view the excerpt below: